


Road Trip (The Storytelling Shopgirl Remix)

by katmarajade



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, POV Female Character, POV Outsider, Post - Goblet of Fire, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 18:48:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1560431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katmarajade/pseuds/katmarajade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Priya, a daydreamer who's always scolded to get her head out of the clouds, works at her family's quiet petrol station. One day a group of four arrives, and there's something *special* about them. This Muggle girl sees far more than anyone, herself included, realises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Road Trip (The Storytelling Shopgirl Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kelly_chambliss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelly_chambliss/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Road Trip](https://archiveofourown.org/works/103108) by [kelly_chambliss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelly_chambliss/pseuds/kelly_chambliss). 



On a quiet, somewhat dreary day in late June, Priya minded the shop. Three generations of Singhs had owned the tiny petrol station just northwest of Fairyrow Wood. They were a bit out of the way—about seven miles off the dual carriageway, and their little shop was generally quiet. That didn't bother Priya a bit, as she quite enjoyed her peaceful days, watching the cars pass through one at a time and woolgathering and spinning yarns about the customers. 

She heard a car door slam in the late morning, and glanced up from her drawing—great winged birds sweeping over a mosaic of uneven rectangles. She set the paper aside guiltily, having lost herself once again in doodles and daydreams. Her mother often bemoaned her daughter, whose head was forever in the clouds and who had not a drop of sense in her entire being. From a very young age, Priya had been scolded for telling tall tales and formulating fabulous fictions, but to her, they were neither tall nor fabulous; they simply _were_. For reasons she could never explain, neither her family nor any of her peers understood. They made up their own silly stories, pretending that the special things did not exist, convincing themselves that dull and grey was normal, ignoring all the brilliant colours of the fantastic world just beyond their ken. 

As the four travellers emerged from their grey Vauxhall Carlton, Priya smiled. These were special customers; she could always tell. It wasn't only that their car looked bigger on the inside. The special ones were brighter in some indefinable way, and they seemed to spark with invisible energy. She let out a tiny hum of delight, because it had been two months since she'd last felt the air ripple like this. The longer she went without experiencing it, the easier it was to give into her family's stern insistence that her mind was playing silly tricks on her, that she'd imagined the lot of it. 

A stout man with a wooden leg and a black eye patch glared at the group, waving his walking stick to urge them inside. A tall, thin man with ginger hair and a smart jacket scurried ahead, followed closely by a very short man with a sprightly walk and a full head of wispy white hair. 

Alongside the first man with the eye patch was a tall, slim woman whose perfect posture and straight shoulders gave her a regal bearing. She wore no-nonsense black tights and a calf-length black skirt, all quite innocuous, but it was her emerald cloak that made Priya sure she was a queen in disguise. 

The bell at the door jingled as they entered. In a display of gallantry, the man with the eye patch insisted the woman be allowed to use the loo first. He stood guard while the other two men wandered the aisles, examining the rows of colourful snacks. 

He must be a pirate captain, she mused, eyeing his practical black trousers and deep red jumper. The eye patch and wooden leg were rather telling, as well. She narrowed her eyes, trying to focus on the strange aura. Yes, she thought, he was definitely a pirate, a fierce and prickly warrior with a heart of gold hidden beneath layers and layers of gruffness and grit and … was that cedar? She shook her head in amusement. Sometimes her imagination got the best of her. 

When the woman emerged from the loo, the pirate captain let out a little growl. His hand hovered about an inch from the woman's back as he glanced around suspiciously before ducking inside. Priya breathed in deeply and watched the lady carefully, trying to determine what her story was. 

A strict and able leader and a woman of passion and power—she was a queen, yes. Her first instinct had been correct. Priya could see her taking charge—a fiery golden lioness single-mindedly protecting her pride. 

A smile played at her lips when she realised that the pirate captain and the queen were in love. She pictured the unlikely pair as young lovers, free of the pressures that they now wore heavily on their shoulders, bright-eyed and fresh-faced, back when they were still able to love and trust and hope without question. Priya let out a dreamy sigh; she'd always loved a good romance. 

A pile of brightly coloured cupcake packages rained down onto the counter, and she blinked in surprise before smiling at the tiny old man, who apparently had quite the sweet tooth. She carefully entered the purchases into the computer. (Her parents still hounded her about the few times she'd been distracted and forgot to enter things properly. _Can't take her responsibilities seriously. Too wrapped up in her silly magical nonsense. A disgrace to the family._ She had to focus.)

"That will be £4.80."

There was a crinkle of light from across the counter, where the short man was mostly hidden from view, and her eyes widened with interest. Then with a cheerful smile, he reached over the counter to hand her a fiver. As she took the proffered note, an intense, crackling shock coursed through her. She jumped, startled, and the old man gave her a curious look, which made her feel like he could see straight into her soul. 

Never had she felt it _that_ intensely. This man must be incredibly powerful—perhaps the queen's most accomplished sorcerer, brought on the mission to protect her. In his soft jumper the diminutive old man looked so sweet and harmless, but Priya suddenly had a strong feeling that he was the most dangerous of the lot of them. 

Once he'd gathered up his cakes, he gave her a polite, almost deferential nod, and she nearly giggled at the very bizarreness of it all. Oh, if she told her parents that a masterful sorcerer had stopped in to purchase a dozen cupcakes covered with orange and pink sugar … even with her vivid imagination, it sounded mad!

The tall ginger man followed the tiny sorcerer out of the shop, and she observed his easy lope and watchful eyes. If the sorcerer were here for the queen, then perhaps this man was here for the captain. The sports jacket hung oddly on his thin frame and she imagined that he rarely wore such smart clothing. She pictured him as the pirate captain's first mate, a gangly, friendly chap whose cheerful smiles put even their enemies at ease and whose good-bloke, family-man type charm belied the sharp glint of danger hovering beneath that easy grin. 

A glance out the small back window showed the two former lovers embroiled in an intense discussion behind the shop. The romantic in her rather hoped they were going to have another go, but the dark storm that swirled in the air and the heaviness in all their eyes kept even her, the consummate dreamer, from believing.

The ginger first mate scampered back to the car, and the sorcerer seemed quite amused at the whole thing. Moments later, the pirate captain and the queen strode into sight, the pirate captain moving slowly and purposefully, as if he were trying to hide major injury, and they climbed into the front seats. The tiny sorcerer spared Priya one last look, and their eyes met through the dusty glass of the shop window. 

She smiled at him hesitantly, unsure what the shrewd gleam in his amber-coloured eyes meant. For a moment, she wanted to run outside and tell them to be careful. She had an odd sense that they were in terrible danger. But before she could decide whether or not to give such a mad-sounding warning, the engine rumbled to life and the grey car disappeared down the lonely road. 

Breathing in deeply, feeling the electric charge of the air, still shivering from her special customers, she had the strangest feeling. Priya looked down at the drawing she'd been mindlessly working on before they had arrived with newfound curiosity. Because of the decidedly English accents on the three men, she assumed they were heading towards the M6. If she'd been a bit quicker, she should have told them to bypass it. In the forefront of her wandering mind, she could clearly see two giant black birds swooping over a gridlocked English Motorway, lying in wait. 

Staring wistfully at the now-empty road, she wished she could have joined them on their adventure. Even fraught with danger, pirates, sorcery, and wicked, fearsome birds, if there was one thing Priya loved, it was road trips.


End file.
